Playing in a theatre near you this fall

NEWS RELEASE

ALGOMA INTERNATIONAL FILMS

************************ Fall schedule for season 44

All films are screened on Sundays at 7 p.m. at Galaxy Cinemas New: ticket prices for non-members $10.

All other prices remain the same: membership $20, members’ ticket prices $6, and annual passes $80 (includes membership and all movies for the year). Questions? Contact Mark Stevenson at 705-759-1436 or Marg Hurtubise at 705-253-4434. Sunday, September 11

Hævnen / In a Better World Director Susanne Bier; Denmark/Sweden 2010; Danish; 119 minutes. In an African refugee camp, physician Anton (Mikael Persbrandt) faces a steady stream of victims of a sadistic local warlord.

Back in Denmark, Anton’s son, Elias (Markus Rygaard), bonds with new kid, Christian (William Jøhnk Nielsen), over a mutual hatred of the class bully.

Soon friendship turns into a dangerous alliance, with potentially tragic consequences.

Far more than a mere exercise in suspense, this film raises essential questions about revenge, forgiveness, and what it means to be a man.

Winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Rated R for language and violent and disturbing content.

View trailer here.

Sunday, September 25

The Tree of Life

Director Terrence Malick; USA 2011; English; 138 minutes

We first meet Jack as a boy (Hunter McCracken) in the 1950s, growing up in a small Texas town with his two younger brothers, where time and an imperfect family life wear off the innocence of childhood.

As an adult, Jack (Sean Penn) is disillusioned, living in a wilderness of glass and steel so far removed from the world in which he grew up.

As he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt), Jack seeks to understand the origins and meaning of life and the question of faith.

Rated PG-13 for some thematic material.

View trailer here.

Sunday, October 16

Beginners

Director Mike Mills; USA 2010; English; 105 minutes

A moving and often hilarious portrait of family, love, loss, and self-discovery, Beginners reveals the major turning points in the life of Oliver (Ewan McGregor).

When Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna (Melanie Laurent) it triggers memories of his father, (Christopher Plummer) who recently passed away.

Five years after his mother’s death, Oliver was shocked by two revelations from his father: he was dying of cancer and he’d just come out of the closet.

A heart-warming film about people opening up and discovering themselves despite age, illness, and preconceptions.

Rated R for language and sexual content.

View trailer here.  Sunday, October 30

Potiche

Director François Ozon; France 2010; French; 103 minutes

It’s 1977 and Suzanne (Catherine Deneuve) is the wife of a rich industrialist who sees her only as “une potiche,” a trophy wife.

When poor health forces her husband to leave, Suzanne steps in to manage the factory.

To everyone’s surprise, she is a remarkably effective leader and, with the help of a former union leader (Gérard Depardieu), gets the factory running again.

But things get complicated when her husband returns, determined to take back his role as head of the company and the household.

Delightful, empowering, and charming, this is a French farce with a lot on its mind.

Rated R for some sexuality.

View trailer here.

Sunday, November 6

Oorlogswinter / Winter in Wartime

Director Martin Koolhoven; Netherlands/Belgium 2008; Dutch/German; 103 minutes

Nazi-occupied Holland, 1945.

In a snow-covered village, 13-year-old Michiel (Martijn Lakemeier) is drawn into the Resistance when he aids a wounded British paratrooper. Michiel's boyish sense of defiance and adventure soon turns to danger and desperation, as he is forced to act without knowing whom to trust among the adults and townspeople around him.

Wartime's harsh reality encroaches on childhood innocence as Michiel confronts good and evil, courage and duplicity, and his own burden of responsibility.

Rated R for some language.

View trailer here.

Sunday, November13

The First Grader

Director Justin Chadwick; UK/USA/Kenya 2010; English/Kikuyu; 120 minutes At the age of 84, Kimani N’gan’ga Maruge (Oliver Litondo) decides to go to school after the government of Kenya announces it will offer free primary education.

When he shows up on the doorstep of a rural school, head teacher Jane Obinchu (Naomi Harris) turns him away.

Maruge is determined, though, and Jane eventually relents.

Full of vitality and humour, the film explores the remarkable relationships Maruge builds with his classmates some eighty years his junior.

An inspiring true story about the transforming force of education.

Rated PG-13 for some disturbing violent content and brief nudity.

View trailer here.

Algoma International Films is a member of the TIFF Film Circuit.

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